Fish cutting and feeding machine



A. V. SULLIVAN Filed Juno 9, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

AL ERT v. SULLIVAN. 915;

ATTOR EYS.

Feb. 1925' A. v. SULLIVAN FISH CUTTING AND FEEDING MACHINE Filed June 9,1923 4 Sheets-Sligefc 2 iNvE/VTOR. ALBERT V. SULLIVAN.

Feb. 10, 1925.

1,525,699 A. v. SULLIVAN FISH CUTTING AND FEEDING MACHINE Filed June 9,1923 4 Sheets-meet 11 iii 5:

IN VE N TOR ALBERT V! SULLIVAN.

ATTORNEYS.

4 Sheets Sheet 4 INVENTOR. RT K SULLIVAN.

- A. v. SULLIVAN RISE CUTTING AND FEEDSING MACHINE Filed June 9, 1923Feb; 10, 1925.

Patented Feb. 10, 1925.

40 duce overweight cans.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT" V. SULLIVAN, OF ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA.

FISH CUTTING AND Application filed June 9,

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it knownthat I, ALBERT V. SULLIVAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Alameda, county of Alameda, and State of f.- Ualifornia,have invented new and useful 10. fee-din machine.

The cutting of fish, such as salmon andthe like, and the packing of thesame in tin cans, are quite, a problem, this being, particularly true ofthe large canneries where thousands 15. of tons of fish are handledevery season as the dealers buying canned salmon demand a uniformparkboth in regard to appearance and weight. Thisis difficult tomaintain as the fish are not uniform in size, hencecausing what istermed cross packing and uneven filling and consequently overweight andunderweight of cans. A. properly filledcan should show the red or cutends of the salmonboth at the top and bottom of the cans,

while a cross packed can shows the skin. It

is very poor in appearance and is often rejected by the dealers.Overweight cans usu-. ally cause what is termed. slack tops; slack topsbeing cans having little or no vacuum.

: Theends of overweight cans are also often strained during the processof cooking, there by causing what is termedslug cans. These cans, towit, slack tops and slugs, are in most cases a total loss. Underweightcans are thrown out of the automatic weighing, ma-

chines and they are usually taken care of by adding a. small chunk offish; but this is not satisfactory as it spoils the appearance of thecan content and often tends to pro- To reduce crosspacks, over and underweights, etc, to a minimum, numerous operators are placed at differentpoints, for instance, along the conveyors and chutes by which the fishis transferred from one point to another by the filling and cuttingmachines, etc. These operators position the fish by hand and they,throwout tail pieces, etc. Handling-of the fish does not promotesanitation; it. adds to 541 the cost of production and it does not. en-

tirely remedy cross-packing, over and under weights, etc.

The object of the present invention is to generally improve and simplifythe construrtiou andoperation ofmachines such as FEEDING MACHINE.

1923. Serial No. 644,446.

are employed in the cutting, sorting, conveying and feeding of fish;toimprove-sanitation by eliminating all hand. labor; to reduce the costof production; to provide means for cutting the fish in, predeterminedlengths; toprovide means for automatically. ejecting underweight andtail pieces etc, and. further, to provide means forinsuring correctpositioning of. the fish when delivered to the fillingmachina therebyavoiding cross-packing. Other objeuts will hereinafter appear.

Une form which my inventionmay assume is exemplified in the followingdescription and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in. which Fig.1 is a side elevation .of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a centrah.longitudinal section partly broken away, said.section. showing one of the trap doors and the mechanism whereby it isactuated.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the machine.

Fig. l is a. cross-section. partly broken away, showing the dischargingcarriage and the cam wherebyit is actuated.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the-machine.

Fig. 6 is a cross-section. partly broken away, showing thefish'feeding.carriageand the cam whereby it is actuated.-

F 7 is aplan view offthe cutter feeding carriage.

Fig. 8 isan end view ofthe same.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation offiFig. 7...

Referring to the drawings in detail, and particularly to Figs. 1, 3and5, A indicates in general a table supported by legs such as indicatedat 2. The table, and legs form a frame in which are journalled a maindriving shaft 3, a change speed driving shaft t, an intermediatedrivingsliaft 5, and a cam shaft 6. The shafts 3, 4 and 5 are ournalledcrosswise of the machine, while shaft 6 is disposed longitudinallythereof. The shaft 3 carries a loose pulley 7' which may be continuouslydriven. It also carriesa friction clutch 8 of suitable construct-ionwhereby the pulley 7 is locked or released with relation to theshaft andit furthermore carries a spur pinion 9 which constantly meshes with aspur gear 10 secured on shaft l,

The clutch S isactuated by a lever 11 pivotally supportedasat 12 on anauxiliary frame or bracket arm- .3. This lever is manually operated tothrow the clutch into engagement, but it is automatically released by atrigger 14. as will hereinafter be described. Inward movement of thelever 11 into engagement with the trip latch 14 causes compression of aspring 15. This spring surrounds the shaft 3 and serves the function ofthrowing the clutch 8 into engagement. Release of lever 11 when the triplatch 14 is actuated permits outward movement of the spring 15 orextension of the same, and clutch S is thereby released. The pulley 7 isconstantly driven by a belt not here shown and if clutch 8 is engaged,at constant turning movement will be transmitted to shaft 3. Thismovement is trans mitted through the gears 9 and 10 to rotate the changespeed drive shaft 4. and this shaft in turn transmits a continuousmovement to shafts 5 and 6. Shaft et carries two sprocket gears whichare per haps best illustrated in Fig. 3, the gears being indicated at 16and 17. Both gears are free on shaft 4 but they are adapted to be lockedto the shaft by means of an intermediate jaw clutch generally indicatedat 18. Shaft 5 similarly carries a pair of sprocket gears 19 and 20. Thegears 16 and 17 are of the same diameter but sprocket gear 20 is largerthan the sprocket gear 19, thus if power is transmitted to shaft 5through the sprocket gears 16 and 19 a high speed will be transmitted,and if power is transmitted through the sprocket gears 17 and 20 and thecooperating chain, a low speed will be transmitted; that is, the machineis adapted to be operated at two speeds. If a large pack is beinghandled, the machine may be operated at high speed, but if the quantityof fish handled is small, the machine may be run at the lower speed.

Power is transmitted from shaft 5 to the cam shaft 6 through a pair ofbevel gears such as indicated at 21. All shafts are continuouslyrotated, but the speeds of the shafts vary in proportion to the ratio ofthe gears and sprockets connecting the same.

The present machine serves several important functions, first, that offeeding the fish to a cutting position; secondly, that of cutting thefish into sections of predetermined length; third, that of discarding orejecting short pieces or tail ends; fourth, that of properly positioningthe fish sections to prevent cross-packing, and fifth, that ofdelivering the cut sections to the feed hopper of a filling machine. Thefish to be cut is delivered in any suitable manner to a receiving tablegenerally indicated at B. (See Fig. 5.) An operator is sta tioned atthis point and advances the fish from the table B to a feeding carriagegenerally indicated at C. This carriage is disposed transversely of thetable A and a reciprocal movement is imparted thereto, the feedingcarriage C being perhaps best illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. The movementof the carriage C is such that at one end of its stroke it aligns withthe table B and there receives the fish. Its second position is at theopposite end of its stroke or that shown in Fig. 5, where it aligns witha cutter feeding carriage generally indicated at D. Reciprocal movementis transmitted to the carriage C from an internal cam 22 which issecured on the ram shaft (3. This internal cam actuates a lever which ispivotally secured to the main frame as indicated at 24:. A pin androller 25 secured to the arm project into the cam 22 and a rockingmovement is thus transmitted to the arm 23. This movement is in turntransmitted to the carriage U through a link 26. The internal cam is soshaped that a slight rest period is secured at each end of its stroke,the longest rest period being obtained when the carriage C aligns withthe cutter feeding carriage D, and the shortest resting period beingobtained when the carriage C aligns with the fish receiving table B. Thelong rest period of the cam is indicated at 27, and the short restperiod at a point opposite thereto. The cutter feeding carriage D isperhaps best illustrated in Figs. 1, 5, 7, 8 and 9, the carriageconsisting of two independent sections such as indicated at and 29. Thesection 28 will hereinafter be referred to as the feeding carriage, andthe section 29 as the feeler plate.

The carriage 28 forms a support for the feeler plate 29, aid thecarriage itself is in turn supported by a pair of guide rods 30, onedisposed at each side of the carriage 28. The guide rods 30 are in turnsupported by cross arms 31 disposed at each end thereof. These crossarms are in turn suppor ed by vertically disposed rods 32. These rodsare guided at each end of the frame and a certain amount of verticalmovement is imparted thereto during the operation of the carriage 28. Areciprocal movement is also transmitted to the carriage 28 and thefeeler plate 29. The reciprocal movement of the rods 32, cross arms 31and the guide rods 50, is imparted through a pair of internal camsgenerally indicated at 3 3. These are disposed on opposite ends of thecam shaft 6 and rotate in unison therewith. The cams 33 are bestillustrated in Figs. 1 and 3. A pair of rocker arms is pivotallysupported on the ends of the frame as indicated at A counterweight isdisposed on one end of each rocker arm as at 85. A roller 36 is securedon the opposite end of each rocker arm and these rollers project intoengagement with the internal cams Rotation of the cams thereby imparts arocking movement to the respective arms about their pivotal supports 3iand this rocking movement is transmitted to reciprocate the rods 32through means of links 37.

amass Disposed below the guiderods SOand secured on the main drive shaft8 are a plurality ofinterspaced circular knives 38. The carriage D, orinother words thecut ter feeding carriage, together with the :teelerplate, is not only reciprocally mounted with relation to the cuttingknives 38, but it is also v rtically movable with relation thereto; thevertical movement being imparted by the cams 88, the rollers 36, links37 and the rods 32; the'vertical movement taking place whenthe carriageD travels in thedirecti'on of arrow a; (see Fig. 5) that is, thecarriage D travels in anelevated position in the direction of arrow orand it returns in a lowered posi tion when reciprocal movement istransmitted thereto in a direction opposite to arrow ([1, and it isduring this last named movement that fish delivered by the earriage (lis removed and passed through the knives 2-38. The reciprocal movementon a horizontal plane, as far as the carriage D is concerned, istransmitted from a rocker arm at) pivotally supported as at 4L1 on anularight bracket a2 forming a part of the main :irame. One end of therocker arm is attached to the carriage 28 by means of a. link as, whilethe opposite end of the rocker arm 40 is connected by means of a rod 44with a crank pin l5 secured on a crank arm all; this crank arm forming apart of the intermediate driving shaft 5. A continuous and evenreciprocal movement is transmitted to the carriage D on a horizontalplane from end to end of the guide rods 30 by the crank 46, rod a l,rocker and link 1-3, anda vertical movement is transmitted to thecarriage through means oi? the guide rods 30., crossarms 31, and thevertical rods 3:2 through means of the internal earns 33. Attached tothelower face at the carriage 28 is a plate 47. This passes over the fishdelivered by the feeding carriage C when the carriage travels in thedirection oi arrow a, but as the carriage, together with the rods 30,cross arms 31 and rods 32, is lowered the moment the plate a? passesbehind the fish, it can readily be seen that it will engage the fish andteed it through the knives 38 when a. return movement is transmitted tothe carriage. The plate ii is slotted in alignment. with the knives 38,thus permitting tree forward movement of the plate -7 when feeding thefish through the knives.

The teeler plate serves an important function as it carries a pluralityof teeler shoes such as generally indicated at The two ontern'iost shoesare longerorextended as indicated at 51 and serve the function ofactuating a trip mechanism such as generally disclosed in Fig. 2; thatis, the tail end of the fish passes between the cutting knives indicatedat 38, 38 and 38, and it is desired to automatically eject these tailsections unless they are up to proper size; The teeler lingers 50 and 51are supported by rods 52 which in turn are vertically movable in theteeler plate :29. The ieeler fingers normally assume a predetermineddepressed position by being pulled downwardly by springs The rods 52, together with the plates 50 and 51, are thus yieldingly supported and willrise upwardly when engaging the fish, but it the tail end of the fish istoo small to engage the tingers 51, no upward movement will take placeand the fingers 51 will, there tore, en ga e a bell crank indicated at5l(see Fig; 2). This bell crank when engaged rocks about its pivot andexerts apull on a latch rod This rod normally supports a trap door inraised and. closed position, but when retracted permits the trap door todrop by gravit i and thereby open. A small section of fish or a tailpiece will, therefore, drop through and it is in this mannerautomatically ejected. The door 56 is closed the moment the carriage Dhas ad vanced beyond the same and it will remain closed until fish isagain passed through the knives. ll? the tail sections are up to size,linger 5i will not engage the bell crank closed, small,

and the trap door willjremain but it the tail pieces are again toofinger 51 will engage the hell crank 54 and the trap door 56 will thusopen. as previously stated, the trap door is automatically closed aftereach operation, this being accomplished byproviding an arm 57 which issupported as at 58 below the table. This arm carries a downot which isjournalled a roller 60. This roller is engaged by a mutilated cam 61;that is, the cam is made in sections asshown in Fig, 2 and as the cam issecured to the shaft 6 and rotates rontinuously therewith it will closethe door 56 once during each revolution of the shaft and it will at thesame time present a void or interruptc-ad section oi the cam asindicated at 62 when the carriage D is feeding the fish through thecutters, thus permitting the trap door to open it released.

The spacing between the cutting knives is such that the fish is cut intoa. series of sections of predetermined length. These sections aredelivered to a discharging car-- riage generally indicated at E. Thiscar riage clearly illustrated in Figs. 1, 4 and This carriage is alsoreciprocally mounted in a manner similar to the feeding carriage C, theonly ditlerence being that one reciprocal stroke is intermittent andst-ep-' like, while the return stroke is quick and continuous. Thismovement is transmitted from an internal cam 62 (see Fig. l). This camhas live stop portions and five advanc wardly depending rod 59 on thelower end ing portions. It actuates a rocker arm 63 pivotally secured tothe end frame as indicated at 64. This rocker arm carries a roller 65,which projects into the cam groove and it is through this roller thatmovement is transmitted to arm 63 and the discharging carriage E, theconnection between the arm 63 and the carriage E being indicated at (36.The portion of the cam indicated at ($7 registers with the roller 65when fish is delivered to carriage E by means of car-- riage 1), thisbeing the first rest period of the cam. The cam is then provided with anadvance indicated at 68; a rest period as irdicated at 69: a secondadvance at the point indicated at 70; a rest period at the pointindicated at 71; a third advance portion as indicated at 72; a restperiod as indicated at 7 3, and so on; that is, under normal con ditionsthe fish is cut into four sections and these four sections are deliveredto the respective compartments indicated at 7st, 75, 7G and 77 formed onthe carriage E, and as the carriage E is advanced with a step by stepmovement with an intermediate rest period between each movement, it isobvious that each section of fish may be removed during the rest period.This is an important feature of the present invention as it is desiredto correctly position the fish and then to deliver the fish in thisposition to a discharging conveyor generally indicated at F. Thisconveyor consists of an endless sprocket chain 80 provided with carrierlugs 81, the chain being supported on sprocket gears 82 and 83 atopposite ends as shown and being driven from the intermediate driveshaft 5 by means of a sprocket chain 84.

The carrier lugs 81 are so spaced and timed that they will successivelyenter the compartments 74, 75, 76 and 77 as these compartments advanceand align in succes sive order with the discharging conveyor. The fishis first of all properly positioned when it reaches the compartments 74,75, 76 and 77, and as it is removed by the carrier lugs 81 whileassuming this position, it is obvious that this position will beretained with relation to the carrier lugs 81 and that the fish will bedischarged in this position of the receiving chute or hopper 86. Thishopper forms a part of a filling machine not here illustrated; that is,it is essential that the fish is delivered to the hopper 86 in apredetermined position as cross-packing of the fish is in this mannerprevented.

The cam 62 imparts four intermittently advance movements to the carriageE in one direction and also produces four rest periods, one between eachadvance, and it is during the rest period that the carrier lugs 31 enterthe compartments and remove the fish. The return movement of thecarriage is continuous and is imparted to the roller 62 and the rockerarm 63 by that portion of the cam indicated at 87. The moment it isreturned it assumes the rest period indicated at 67, and the cut fish isdelivered to the discharging carriage E when this rest period isassumed. It is then advanced by the cam portion 68 and reaches itssecond rest period at the point indicated at 69; the successive advanceperiods and rest periods being clearly illustrated in Fig. 4.

The carriage D, as previously stated, consists of two sections such asindicated at 28 and 29 the section 29 being supported by the guide rodsand being reciprocally mounted thereon and also vertically movabletherewith. The feeler plate 29 is also reciprocally and verticallymovable in unison with the carriage 28, but it may here be stated thatit has an independent vertical movement with relation thereto. Thismovement .is imparted by a pair of stationary cams 90 disposed on eachside of the main frame. These cams engage a pair of rollers 91 disposedone in each end of the feeler plate 29. During the return stroke of thecarriage 28 and the feeler plate 29 guide rods 30 are elevated to apoint Where they align with the upper portion of the cam members 90. Theguide rods, together with the carriage 28, are lowered when the end ofthe return stroke is reached and it is at this point that the plate &7passes behind the fish delivered by the feeding carriage C. The rollers91 will at this point engage the high portion 90 of the cams and thefee-ler plate, together with the rods 52 and the fingers 50 and 51, willthus remain in an elevated position, while thecarriage 28 and the guiderods 30 are lowered. The moment they reach their lowered position, aforward movement is imparted to the carriage 28 and simultaneously tothe feeler plate 29. The rollers, therefore, advance on the high portion90" of the cams and they will also automatically lower themselves tonormal position by travelling downwardly on the inclined portions of thecams 90 as indicated at 92. It is during this downward movement that thefingers 50 and 51 come. into engagement with the fish, the fingers 51being engaged by the fish remain in an elevated position and thus passfree of the bell crank 54 (see Fig. 2), but they will engage this bellcrank if the tail piece of the fish is too small, the fingers 50 merelyserving the function of holding the fish rigidly against the plate .7when passing through the knives.

From the foregoing it can be seen that. the fish may be delivered insections such as indicated at 95 to the table B in any suitable manner.They are here placed by an operator on the feeding carriage C whichdelivers the fish one by one to a point in lilll llU alignment withthereciprocating carriage It is here automatically engaged by the plate 47ot the carrlage D and advances I through the cutting knives38, and afterthe fish is out the continued movement of the carriage D delivers thefish to the discharging carriage E; that is, the fish is at this pointout into sections of predetermined length and each section. is deliveredto the respective compartments shown at 74, 75, T6 and 77. This carriageupon receiving the fish advances intern iittently as previouslydescribed, thereby bringing each compartment into alignment with thedischarging conveyor F. The carrier lugs 81 thus pass successivelythrough the difterent compartments and thus remove the fish sections oneby one. The carrier lugs in turn elevate the fish to the receivinghopper or chute 86, where it is fed by gravity to the filler machine nothere shown.

li Ieans are also employed for automaticaliy stopping the machine it thechute 86 should happen to become completely filled. The means disclosedis a trip arm 93 pivotally mounted on the upper end of the chute 86 asat 94C. Thetrip arm 98 is provided with a crank arm 95 and this is inturn con nected through arod 96 with the trip latch ll, (see Fig. 5)through means of a bell crank 97 and a rod 98. If the hopper or chute 86becomes filled, the last fish deposited will be forced in under the triparm 93 and a rocking movement will thus be transmitted to the crank arm95. This movement is transmitted through the rod 96, bell crank 97 androd 98 to rock the trip latch 14:. Rocking movement of this latchreleases the lever 11 and thus permits the spring 15 to expand andclutch C to ssnme released position. Pulley 7 will thus turn freely onthe shaft and the machine will automatically come to a stop, and it itis again desired to start the vmachine it will be necessary to manuallyswing the lever 11 back to the full line positio shown in Fig.

In other words, the machine is manually started, but it is automaticallystopped when conditions so require.

While certain features of the present invention are more or lessspecifically illustrated, I wish it understood that various changes interm and proportion may be resorted to within the scope of the appendedQltlllllS, similarly, that the materials and finish of the several partsemployed may be such as the experience and judgment of the manufacturermay dictate or various uses may demand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. In a machine of the character described, aplurality of cutting knives, means for delivering fish to the knives andfor feedingthc fish through and between the scribed, means lor cutting afish into a plurality of sections of predetermined lengths, means forautomatically e ectmg short sections, and means for intermittently andsuccessively delivering each section of predetermined length one by oneto a conveyor.

4. In a machine of the character described, means for cutting a fishinto a pluralit-y oi? sections of predetermined length, and means forintermittently and successsively delivering each section of predeter'mined length one by one to a conveyor.

5. In a machine of the character describe-d, a discharge conveyor, meansfor cutting fish into a plurality of sections, and means for deliveringthe sections one by one to the conveyor and in a position where the cutends of the sections will lie parallel with the sides of the conveyor.

6. In a machine of the character described, a fishteeding mechanism, acutting mechanism adapted to cut the fish into a plurality of sectionsof predetermined length, adischarge conveyor, means for delivering thecut fish sections to the conveyor one by one, a receiving hopper intowhich the conveyor discharges, and means for antomatically stopping thefish feeding mech anism when the hopper is; filled.

7.. In a machine of the character described, a fish feeding mechanism, acutting mechanism adapted to cut the fish into a plurality of sectionsof predetermined length, a discharge conveyor, means for delivering thecut fish sections to the conveyor one by one, a receiving hopper intowhich the conveyor discharges, and means for antomatically stopping thefish feeding mechanism, the cutting mechanism and the discharge conveyorwhen the hopper is filled.

8. In a machine of the character described, a main frame, a fish feedingcarriage mounted thereon, means for imparting a reciprocal movementthereto, a plurality of interspaced cutting knives, a cutter feedingcarriage reciprocally mounted adjacent the same and adapted to removethe fish from the feeding carriage, and also adapted to feed the fishthrough the cutting knives, a discharge conveyor, and means fordelivering cut sections of fish one by one thereto.

9. In a machine of the character de' scribed, a main frame, a fishfeeding carriage mounted thereon, means for imparting a reciprocalmovement thereto, a. plurality lOO of interspaced cutting knives adaptedto out each fish into a plurality of sections of predetermined length, adischarging carriage, a cutter feeding carriage adapted to remove thefish from the feeding carriage and also adapted to feed the fish throughthe cutters and to deliver the cut fish sections to the dischargingcarriage, a discharge conveyor, and means for imparting a step by stepmovement to the discharging carriage in one direction to deliver the cutsections of fish to the discharging conveyor one by one.

10. In a machine of the character described, a main frame, a fishfeeding carriage mounted thereon, means for imparting a reciprocalmovement thereto, a. plurality of interspaced cutting knives adapted toout each fish into a plurality of sections of predetermined length, adischarging carriage, a cutter feeding carriage adapted to remove thefish from the feeding carriage and also adapted to feed the fish throughthe cutters and to deliver the cut fish sections to the dischargingcarriage, a discharge conveyor, and means for imparting a: step by stepmovement to the discharging carriage in one direction to deliver the cutsections of fish to the discharging conveyor one by one, said means alsoadapted to impart a continuous quick return movement to the dischargecarriage in the opposite direction.

11. In a machine of the character described, a main frame, a fishfeeding carriage mounted thereon, means for imparting a reciprocalmovement thereto, a plurality of interspaced cutting knives adapted toout each fish into a plurality of sections of predetermined length, adischarging carriage, a cutter feeding carriage adapted to dischargesthe fish sections one by one, t

and means for automatically stopping the fish feeding, cutting anddischarging mechanism when the hopper is full.

12. In a machine of the character de scribed, the combination with thecutting knives and the cutter feeding carriage cooperating therewith, ofatable by which the fish is supported and moved when passing through theknives, a trap door in said table, and means on the carriage forautomatically releasing the trap door if short sections of fish areencountered.

13. In a machine of the character de scribed, means for cutting a fishinto a plurality of sections of predetermined length, means forautomatically ejecting short sections, means for delivering each sectionof predetermined length to a conveyor, a hopper into which the conveyordischarges, and means for automatically stopping the fish cutting, thefish ejecting mechanism, and the conveyor when the hopper is filled.

1 L. in a machine of the character de scribed, a fish cutting mechanism,means for delivering the cut sections of fish one by one to acoi'iveyor, a hopper into which the fish sections discharge, and meansfor automatically stopping the conveyor when the hopper is filled.

ALBERT V. SULLIVAN.

